


Utopia

by Estirose, tptigger



Series: Building Family [9]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Ninja Storm
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-11
Updated: 2010-03-11
Packaged: 2017-10-07 21:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/69626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/Estirose, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tptigger/pseuds/tptigger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the wake of Sensei Switcheroo, Hunter tries to get Cam to open up about his feelings on Sensei's guinea pig status.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Utopia

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimers: Characters and situations are the property of BVE and Village Road show, not to us. The video game console also does not belong to us, though one of the authors played games on it as a kid.

"I think he's lonely, bro," Blake said, leaning back against the wall of the brothers' shared quarters in Ninja Ops. The two were discussing Cam. More specifically, Cam's reaction to the day's events.

"Well, duh," Hunter offered, sitting on his bed. "His girlfriend's in England and his dad's a guinea pig. It's getting Cam to admit it that's the issue..."

"Not to us," Blake responded. "Especially not to you."

Hunter shrugged, as if that didn't matter. "Okay, I approached some things the wrong way. Did you see the look on his face when he was reminded his father was now a guinea pig?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm thinking you should back off," Blake said. "You didn't have to push him that far."

"He never talks about it." Hunter frowned in concern. "Except for that one time in Storm Chargers when we started it. And even then he didn't say much. Maybe he needs to talk and we just have to pry it out of him."

Blake buried his face in his hands, embarrassed. Couldn't Hunter *let go* of things sometimes? "Did it ever occur to you maybe he talks to Sensei?"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe in this situation he can't?" Hunter fired back immediately.

"Why, bro?" Blake asked, looking over. "I mean, you've seen how Sensei is with Cam. I mean, guinea pig or no, Sensei *is* Cam's father."

Hunter sat back. "Yeah, well, there are some things you don't discuss with your parents. Like your sex life. Or the fact that your father is now nine inches tall."

Blake winced. "Sex life?" Thank goodness he and Tori were sensible enough to realize that having sex at this point wouldn't help. Neither of them knew what would happen if she became pregnant while she was a Ranger. Besides, her folks and Sensei Omino would kill him. Figuratively.

Hunter studied his brother. "Judging from the look on your face, I don't have to worry about you and Tori. I guess with Cam it would be a *lack* of sex life, given his girlfriend's in the UK."

Blake nodded numbly. "Yeah." At least Cam probably *had* a sex life.

Hunter pressed on, oblivious to his brother's musing. "I mean, he can't really talk about it to his Dad. I mean, his Dad can't do anything about being stuck as a guinea pig, and you know what happened when Cam went to fix that."

"Major disaster, dude." Blake nodded sagely. Sensei hopping into Shane and Dustin's bodies was seriously weird. And it had to be weirder for Cam-- the first human touch from his father in months and it's while he's in *Dustin's* body? Blake was traumatized from a distance, he couldn't imagine how Cam felt.

"Right. It's like we know he has a problem with it, but he doesn't think any of us are mature enough to discuss it." Hunter ceased pacing and spilled into his desk chair.

"He thinks that about a lot of things, dude." Blake sighed at the thought. "If it were anything not ninja related, I'd suggest we borrow Cam's computer and see if we could get Trini's email address. Obviously, we can't tell her *that*."

"No." Hunter frowned, but filed away the plan for future reference if there was something they *could* enlist Cam's girlfriend's help with in the future. "So, how do we get him to open up?"

Blake frowned, not willing to be pulled into Hunter's current plan. "You want him to open up, you do it."

"Fine." Hunter got up again and collecting the stuff he'd need to practice motocross.

Blake shrugged. As far as he was concerned, Cam would either open up or he wouldn't open up, and Hunter could only make it worse. "You're the one who's pretty much adopted him."

Hunter gave a brief nod at that, acknowledging that he was closer to Cam than Blake was. Maybe Cam needed his help more than Blake did nowadays. "But I don't think that's the way to go. He kinda gets annoyed when I talk to him about that." He sat and thought. "Bro, I'm going out for a while. Tell Cam I'm going to practice a bit."

"Tell him yourself," Blake said testily. "You're the one who wants to talk to him.

"Okay," Hunter said. He shrugged into his jacket. "See you later, bro."

Blake nodded, returning to his reading for school.

* * *

But Cam wasn't in the control room of Ninja Ops. CyberCam sat at the main console, typing rapidly into the computer while schematics of the zords danced on the screens. Hunter didn't feel that a hologram had any authority over him, so he just ignored the being; which all the younger Rangers did if at all possible.

"Wait a minute, Dude," CyberCam said sternly, without turning around as Hunter reached the Ninja Ops exit. "Cam said to keep an eye on you. Where are you going?"

"To the track, going riding," Hunter said.

"Without Blake?" The being swiveled in the chair, studying Hunter quizzically.

"It doesn't happen often, but it does happen," Hunter snapped, and sauntered out the secret entrance.

"Dude!" CyberCam's indignant exclamation followed him up the stairs, but he ignored the being once again.

* * *

Hunter got back from the track. He'd had a good ride, but it hadn't given him any clue on how to get Cam to open up to him. Maybe he'd have to enlist Dustin; Dustin was the one teaching Cam how to ride a bike, after all. Sometimes Cam just had to be caught off guard. And who better to get him off guard than Dustin?

CyberCam was still at the computer. "I'm home," Hunter announced, in a fit of perverseness. Besides, Cam had programmed the holographic idiot to keep an eye on Ops. Why Cam had bothered to program CyberCam the way he was, nobody knew. The popular theory was it was to drive them all nuts.

"Sensei is looking for you, dude," CyberCam said casually, not bothering to look up from the display. It was as if he had eyes all over Ops. Probably did. Or the computer that ran his routines did.

"Right. Where is he?" Hunter asked, surprised. Yeah, CyberCam was a computer intelligence, but he didn't usually function as an answering service.

"Practice room, dude," CyberCam said, motioning in the direction of the small room that Cam occasionally used to exercise in, eyes still glued to the screen.

Hunter braced himself, went into the room and knocked. He hoped he wasn't in trouble-- it's not like he hadn't told anyone where he was going or his homework wasn't done. He'd made sure of this; Sensei sometimes got nosy.

"Ah, Hunter," Sensei said, standing in the middle of the room. His "home" wasn't in the room, so Hunter assumed he'd bounced his way in. "I assume CyberCam told you I was here."

"Yes, Sensei," Hunter replied, shifting from foot to foot. "What did you want to see me about?"

"It is about Cam," Sensei explained, gesturing for Hunter to sit. "You are the next oldest of the Rangers. Perhaps you can... talk to him?"

"Sensei, I've been trying to." Hunter sank to the floor, sitting cross-legged.

"Do you know what's bothering him?" Sensei asked. "He won't tell me."

Hunter swallowed. How did one respectfully tell their Sensei-- or their other Sensei, anyway-- that there was probably a reason why his son didn't want to say anything. Especially without giving away what that reason was?

Sensei stood peacefully on the floor, forepaws folded in front of him.

Hunter took a deep breath. "I think I know, but I wouldn't want to say for certain."

"Why not, Hunter?" Sensei's nose wrinkled, his whiskers twitching in concern. "Is Cam in trouble?"

Hunter stared at the guinea pig in disbelief. "Uh, Sensei, this is *Cam* we're talking about. I think I know what's wrong. And I think I know why he's uncomfortable talking to you about it; what I don't know is how to get him to open up to me."

"Ah," Sensei said succinctly, whiskers still twitching.

"I'm trying to think of a way," Hunter added quickly. "I've been thinking of it to and from the track. It's just that I think Cam thinks I'm not old enough to understand some things. Even though I'm nearly a legal adult." Cam would probably never think of either himself or Blake as adults, and he guessed it had something to do with them holding him hostage. Something to bring up with Cam later. After this was handled, at least.

Sensei frowned, as if trying to read him and failing. "Does this have something to do with Trini?"

Hunter blushed, realizing what Sensei must be thinking, and opened his mouth. Then closed it again. Then managed to speak. "No, Sensei, I don't think that's it."

"Then what is it?" Sensei asked curiously. "If it is not Trini, then what?"

"I'll have Cam tell you," Hunter said, shifting backwards a bit. "I don't feel comfortable talking about his problems if he's not willing to talk." *Unlike what he did for me and Blake,* Hunter thought, remembering their abrupt move to Ops. He wondered if he was being overprotective of Cam.

"Very well," Sensei said. "Maybe you can convince him to... come to me?"

"I'll do my best, Sensei," Hunter told the small being, excusing himself. He knew that when he and Blake had been moved to Ops, the team had the courtesy to leave Sensei out of it. Sensei had involved himself this time, but Hunter still felt uncomfortable breaking the implied confidence of the tightness of the team.

Blake was not in their shared room, which was a relief. He figured it would be easier to tackle Cam alone, without his younger brother's help.

It was funny - they'd been close since he could remember, and now that they were part of a larger team, some of their cohesiveness had dissolved. Blake seemed to have a life without him now.

Maybe he was obsessing over Cam. Maybe he couldn't operate without someone to be there for.

But Sensei was concerned, and that was saying something. If nothing else, at least this time, Hunter knew he wasn't imagining things. Hunter knocked on the door to Cam's room.

Cam didn't respond, so Hunter made his way to the kitchen. Maybe Cam was planning the weekly grocery run. It would be so like Cam to be doing that.

The other Ranger wasn't there, but he could hear voices coming from the rec room.

He stopped in there to see... Cam and Blake, playing some kind of pixelly video game. Something that had to be from the eighties, it was that bad. He didn't interrupt them, just stood in the doorway.

Maybe he was taking the wrong tack with Cam, after all. Maybe Blake was right, and he was wrong.

He went back to his room, not wanting to disturb them. He knew that both he and Sensei were concerned about Cam, but... maybe Cam just needed to have fun? Open up? Cam didn't do that easily. He knew that firsthand.

Cam wasn't integrating into the team as well as they thought, but that was no big surprise, given Cam's age. And Cam's position. Cam was a sixth, after all.

Campfire stories and other team bonding activities aside-- Cam was more than willing to listen, but completely unwilling to talk. To any of them. He was willing to be their confidant, but not to confide in them.

Cam, he realized after a moment, was still thinking as the team's support person. The team medic, the dispenser of Power Spheres, the team backup. The older person who was always willing to lend an ear, but not judge or freak out like an adult would. But not part of the team. A Ranger, yes, but not part of the team. It was as if he wasn't able to get over the age difference.

How on Earth did he help Cam get past something like that? There was no way he'd talk about the guinea pig dad thing until he got past that. Maybe Hunter would be best off telling Cam his father was worried, and if he didn't want to talk to someone on the team, then maybe he should talk to his Dad.

It might make it easier to figure out how to bridge the age gap without the time pressure too. Not to mention he could tell Sensei he'd tried. Which he could tell Sensei anyway. What he didn't want to do was to have to tell Sensei that he failed. Not after all the Wind Ninja had done for him and Blake.

Maybe he'd warm up to it. Maybe if *he* talked about his foster father and family then Cam might open up. Maybe he could mention it then. Hunter grinned. Yes, maybe that would work. Even if it didn't... he'd done his best.

He got up and snagged one of Cam's special ice cream bars and made his way back to the rec room where the two were still playing. He arranged himself on one of the sofas and bit into the bar, chewing the chocolate chips while gazing vacantly at the screen.

It was a long while before Blake made a wrong move and the game ended, causing Cam to grin.

Blake looked up at him. "Hey, bro, how long have you been sitting there?"

"A few," Hunter said, folding the wrapper neatly. "Got back from practice, thought I'd hang about." Hang about was the best way to describe it. He'd been 'hanging about' since he'd gotten back in and Sensei had approached him about Cam.

"You want to play?" Cam offered, holding up some kind of controller.

"Sure." Hunter took the controller-- which kind of reminded him of a black iPod, but with buttons above the screen-- and slipped towards the console. "Boy these graphics are really... bad."

"80's game," Blake said by way of explanation.

"Believe it or not, very good games." Cam rolled his eyes in frustration, as if it were Blake and Hunter's fault that they'd grown up with Sega Genesis and its ilk. "You didn't think home video games were invented in the nineties?"

Hunter shrugged. "Whatever. Just tell me how to play."

Cam pointed at Blake.

Hunter realized Cam had given him the controller he had been using, intending for the Hunter to play against his little brother. "What are you going to do?"

"I believe it's called 'dinner'," Cam said. "Especially since someone is throwing their diet out of whack."

Hunter sighed. He thought he was going to play with Cam, work on getting him to open up. He could play with Blake any time. "Never mind, want some help with dinner? And I'm not throwing my diet out of whack!"

Cam pointed silently at the folded-up wrapper.

"I'll go make dinner," Blake volunteered, putting his controller on the floor and getting up. "I'm not going to sit in here and listen to this." And before either could respond, he was out the door, leaving the two of them alone.

"Don't forget the vegetables," Cam called after him, seemingly unconcerned at being left alone with Hunter.

"Yeah, yeah," Blake's voice drifted back into the rec room.

"What did he mean by that?" Cam asked, looking at Hunter, his tone pointed.

"I have no idea," Hunter said, in a manner that he hoped was casual. He leaned back against thin air, trying to look relaxed and slightly bored.

"Right," Cam said in his best sarcastic tone, glaring at him.

"So, Cam, what is this?" Hunter asked as he peered at the weird... controller, as Cam put another cartridge thing in the machine.

"Utopia," Cam muttered, tossing an instruction manual to him, apparently expecting him to read it in five seconds flat. While Hunter was trying to read the manual, Cam slid some dinky sheet of plastic in to cover the buttons.

"Okay," he said, looking at the book again. This time he actually read some of the instructions-- which talked about how to get money and build buildings. "You sure this is a video game?"

Cam rolled his eyes. "Yes, Hunter. Home video game systems did exist before Nintendo."

"They did?" Hunter asked, batting his eyelashes sarcastically.

Cam shook his head in disgust.

Hunter looked through the book some more. "This kinda reminds me of Civilization." Hunter looked up at the screen. "Only without the cool graphics."

Cam looked at Hunter and grinned mischievously. "Remind me to introduce you to Planetfall or Zork."

"To what or what?" Hunter found the copyright page in the instruction manual. "Dude, how old were you when you got this?"

"You don't want to know," Cam said, shaking his head and doing something weird that Hunter didn't even *want* to know about. "Let's just say it wasn't the latest and greatest at that point."

"O-kay," Hunter said, examining the booklet again. "So are we going for benevolent ruler or are we channeling our inner Lothors?"

"It's up to you," Cam told him, shrugging. "If you strike me, I'll strike back."

Hunter perused the manual again. "So I can put Rebels on your island. Cool."

"Well, if you *want* to play it that way," Cam said softly, and Hunter had an idea that doing that was liable to cause... problems.

Hunter shrugged. Wasn't worth the effort until he learned the game. "Hey, it's an idea, man."

Cam sighed. "In the meantime, let's start." He tapped a button on his controller, obviously ready, even if Hunter wasn't.

"Whoa!" Hunter fiddled with the buttons on his controller, trying to figure out how to... well, play. "Let me read the manual. It's not like you haven't had this game for a zillion years."

"Read the manual?" Cam leaned away from Hunter as if he were a crazy person. "Hunter, you're talking to a Mac user. We don't need manuals. You're still lucky I have that thing. Besides, the game is pretty intuitive."

"Yeah, for a computer geek like you," Hunter teased.

"Just start planting." Cam held up his own controller to demonstrate. "Move the cursor - the box - with the little disc, and then press 3 and enter when you want to plant stuff. The same if you're trying to build schools, hospitals, or housing."

"Right." Hunter shook his head, clearly still more than a little confused. "Sensei Omino would have never gone for us owning a computer game console. Even one that was 'slightly out of date'."

"I'm sure he preferred you getting fresh air," Cam said.

"He preferred us training," Hunter sighed, remembering how his foster father had acted ever since the two of them had come into his custody. His foster father had truly been training them for something... something so desperate that he hadn't wanted to divert them from it.

"At least he let you train," Cam reminded him. He frowned a little at the controller, as if it was the cause of all his problems. In reality, he probably wished that *his* father had let him train.

Hunter shook his head at Cam's reaction. "All we heard was 'train, train, train', and I don't mean the choo-choo kind," he explained, looking up at the ceiling for a second. "We trained from when we were little upwards. We even had a year of home schooling."

Cam paused the game and turned to Hunter. "Really?" he asked, apparently not being able to imagine Hunter's life at the Thunder Ninja academy.

"Yeah, before Sensei O. decided maybe we should have 'normal socialization'," Hunter explained, as the game pinged at them and started again. "He wanted us to be ready. Sometimes he had to be convinced that 'ready' meant more than martial arts training."

"He should've given you guys a course in Evil Space Ninjas." Cam tried not to reveal that he was beginning to suspect that Blake and Hunter had missed a large part of their childhoods. "And Saturday morning cartoon villains."

"Shane, Tori, and Dustin gave us the latter," Hunter chuckled.

"It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it." Cam returned to the original subject. "Dad... since I was never going to be a ninja, I grew up in public schooling. I was in the GATE program, since I kept testing so high. Dad was so proud of me, that when I asked for this game console, he picked it up-- along with all the games I have-- secondhand. He wasn't *big* on it, but he thought it was a good gift."

"That's cool," Hunter said. "Quite the opposite of our upbringing. One of Sensei O's other teachers had to talk him into letting us do *anything* extracurricular. He talked him into music lessons once, computer classes, some other stuff."

"Like moto x?"

A smile spread across Hunter's face. "Took a lot of talking on that one, but even Sensei O. figured out we needed something, and it kept us from being rambunctious."

Cam nodded, smiling a little bit as well. "I'm sure Dad meant this as a way so that I could occasionally have people over... but when do you have people over when you live at a secret Ninja Academy?"

"Never," Hunter replied, shrugging. "It never stopped Blake from making friends but for me... well, when we got older, I started making friends with the less advanced students. Or trying too-- they'd get a little intimidated hanging out with Sensei O's 'son' who was more advanced than they were, even if I was the same age."

Cam nodded, visualizing a thirteen year old Hunter trying to get along with the kids his age, and suddenly realized that maybe not being trained as a ninja wasn't so bad. Of course, it didn't prevent his words being tinged with envy. "At least you had some training. I made friends with some of the students just so that I could learn Ninja techniques. My own little rebellion."

"I wondered how you got better than the rest of us," Hunter grinned, nudging Cam. "You being sneaky. What a concept."

"Believe it or not," Cam said, "I can be sneaky. How do you think I almost escaped you when you were working for Lothor?" He reminded his teammate subtly of when they first met, and Cam had nearly gotten away from them by confusing the heck out of Blake, and nearly had stopped Hunter as well.

Hunter winced at the memory. "Don't remind me."

"OK, I won't remind you." Cam fiddled with the controller. "I'll just send someone to steal your crops."

Hunter glared at him. "Cheater."

"You can't cheat at video games without an easter egg code," Cam said matter of factly.

"Does this game have easter egg codes?" Hunter's eyes lit up.

Cam smirked.

"Okay...." Hunter started pressing buttons at random.

"Imp," Cam laughed. "Watch what you're doing, you could cause a tsunami."

"Would that focus my cycle? And hey, wait, what's an imp?"

"Mischievous little critter," Cam replied. "Originally, a small demon."

"Oookay," Hunter said, scowling. Not at the definition, but by the fact that Cam had far more points than he did. At least he thought so. He couldn't read the stupid scores on the thing. "You can't tell me you didn't spend hours playing this game."

"When I wasn't doing homework," Cam said, shrugging. Hunter pictured Cam finishing off his homework within a half hour, and then playing this video game all the rest of the evening.

Which made him wonder about something different. Something that Cam had said just after the Mr. Ratwell incident. "Just how did you get a girlfriend?"

"College was different," Cam said matter-of-factly, eyes never leaving the screen.

"Oh?" Hunter asked curiously. Cam, reveal something about himself? This was too good to be true.

"I was required to get out," Cam said, eyes still on the game. "Dad thought it would do me some good to get away from the Academy for a while. That's how I met Trini."

"So heavy on the details. Did you live at home or in the dorms? And where did you meet Trini, a frat party?"

"Kung fu club," Cam said evenly. "And the dorms, Dad really wanted me to experience college life."

Hunter let the comment about the dorms slide. He had other fish to fry. "You and Blake, always going for the tough ones."

"Tori hits a lot harder than Trini," Cam said, a far away smile forming on his lips. "I wouldn't cross Trini, but it's a lot harder to do so than it is with Tori."

Hunter nodded. "So... you met your girlfriend through a martial arts club?"

"Yes. Trini's from Angel Grove," Cam explained. "We were both kind of homesick, though more me than her. She'd spent some time overseas."

"And went back for more?" Hunter asked, referring to the fact that Trini was doing her graduate work at Oxford in the UK.

"Yeah," Cam said. "And I'm going to join her if we can ever get my stupid Uncle away from our planet."

Hunter laughed at Cam's description of his disowned Uncle. "I've heard him described lots of ways, but never 'stupid'."

"You're not stuck with the uncle from hell," Cam reminded him.

The corner of Hunter's mouth quirked upwards. "The place where not-so-nice people go?" he asked lightly, vaguely aware that he'd spent far too much time reading "Nodwick" on the computer lately.

"It's not a curse word if it's been on Nickelodeon. Even if it was the early eighties," Cam muttered, apparently not catching the reference.

"Ok, dude," Hunter said, fiddling with the controller, still trying for a one-up on Cam.

The screen started doing something interesting.

"Hunter, I think you broke the game," Cam stated, nudging him gently.

"Oops." Hunter blushed. "I didn't mean to. Is it fixable?"

Cam hit a button on the console. "It should be."

The game restarted. From the beginning. "What happened to our game?" Hunter asked.

"It's not like this thing has a hard drive or can write on the cartridge," Cam pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, old game," Hunter reminded himself. "So we start over?"

"We can," Cam said, looking at his watch. "Don't know if we'll have time to finish before dinner."

"Didn't I see something on here about short games?" Hunter said, picking up the booklet again, trying in vain to understand what was going on there.

Cam nodded, using the controller to punch in nonsense settings. "I'll set one up."

Hunter leaned back, giving up on reading the manual and hoping that he could win by the seat of his pants. "Cool. Maybe I'll beat you."

"Don't hold your breath, you little whipper snapper," Cam said, grinning.

"Whipper snapper?" Hunter echoed in confusion. "Just how old did you say you were?"

"Older than you think." Cam hit a few buttons, and then he was entering stuff on the screen. "These will be really fast rounds."

"Okay," Hunter said. "At least you don't have to fiddle with our diets anymore."

"Says who? And I was doing that for your own good," Cam said defensively.

"I know, dude. It was important. But it was kinda frustrating."

Cam raised an eyebrow. "Frustrating how?"

"I'm just not used to being under that much of a microscope. And no matter how much you said some junk food was OK, you did have a tendency towards disapproving looks, dude."

"That's because you kept eating my Tofuttis." Cam replied in an offhanded way.

Hunter shrugged, thinking of the taste of the tofu-based ice cream bars. "Is it my fault they were so good?"

"No, it's your fault you can't resist them," Cam said, sounding a little annoyed at that. "I was always running out."

"You know, Cam, there is this magical thing called Whole Foods Market where you can buy those things," Hunter pointed out.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that you had to be eating them all the time," Cam told him.

Hunter shrugged. "I liked them. You have good taste in dessert. For a soy and tofu nut."

Cam threw up his arms in disgust. "I hate it when you do that."

"Sorry." Hunter backed away a bit.

Cam sighed at Hunter's skittishness. "Let's have a few rounds before Blake comes to get us for dinner."

"Ok." Hunter picked up the controller.

"And no crashing the game this time," Cam admonished.

Hunter looked at Cam skeptically. "Would I do that?"

"You did," Cam pointed out in an even tone.

"I didn't mean to!" Hunter pouted, looking down at the flimsy controller.

Cam was suddenly left with the feeling that he was finding out what it was like to have siblings. He wasn't sure if it was a good feeling or a bad one.

"What?" Hunter asked, breaking into his thoughts.

Cam, not willing to discuss how he felt, motioned with his controller. "Nothing. Shut up and play."

"OK, dude." Hunter glanced at the manual and making his opening move.

They played for a few minutes before Hunter spoke up. "Dude, does yesterday bother you?" he asked, referring to what had happened with Cam's attempt to make his father human again. He glanced at the amulet-morpher around Cam's neck.

Cam paused the game. "Want to tell me where that question came from?"

"Your Dad's really worried about you," Hunter tried.

Cam raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not exactly unconcerned myself." Hunter was looking more at the floor than Cam, but it was clear he wasn't as ashamed as he was acting.

"Fine," Cam said, in a tone that indicated he thought everything was fine. Or at least Cam was pretending everything was fine. The game bleeped at him again and resumed. "I'm okay."

"Cam, you're a worse liar than I am," Hunter pointed out. "And you know how bad a liar I am."

"I don't want to talk about it, not... I don't want to talk about it." Cam caught himself as he was about to confess whatever was bothering him.

"Not with me?" Hunter finished for him, trying not to sound insulted.

It must not have worked, for Cam paused the game again, looking over at his teammate. "Look, Hunter, it's nothing personal, it's just..."

Hunter suddenly became very interested in a chocolate spot on the carpet. "This is one of the times when the age difference matters?"

"Well..." Cam started, trailing off.

Hunter looked up, meeting Cam's eyes for the first time in awhile. "Look, Cam, it's clearly bugging you. I noticed it, your Dad noticed it. The next time you get together with Trini on video chat she'll probably notice it. You have to talk to someone. You can't tell Trini about your Dad being a guinea pig-- not over the 'net anyway-- so that leaves your Dad or someone on the team."

The game beeped again, and Cam pressed a control. "Look, nothing against you. It's just not something that can be explained. To anybody."

"Try."

Cam shook his head. Hunter chalked it up to Cam being far too stupid for his own good. At least on the interpersonal side of things.

"Maybe you should talk to your Dad about this," Hunter said simply. Save him the trouble of mediating between Cam and Sensei.

"My Dad is the last one I can talk to about this," Cam muttered.

"Well you've turned your nose up at talking to me, or the rest of the team," Hunter said. "Who's left? Your fish?"

"Woz," Cam said.

Hunter raised an eyebrow. "Woz?"

"My fish," Cam explained.

"Your fish?" Hunter continued.

"Named after one of the cofounders of Apple Computer. The betta I had before Uncle Moron sucked the whole academy onto his ship was named Steve. I don't think Steve got the benefit of a stasis bubble."

"Oh." Hunter leaned forward. "Come on, Cam, talk to me."

"Again, you are not my brother." Cam enunciated each word as if that could somehow convince Hunter.

For once, Hunter let the point drop. "Aren't I at least your friend?"

Cam frowned at that, he knew where this was going, but he wasn't about to deny it.

"Come on, you know what Dustin says all the time about Ranger teams, at least in the comics." Hunter shoved Cam affectionately.

"I know," Cam said. one corner of his mouth turning up in a not very happy smile. He paraphrased what Dustin had told him once, not long after he became a Ranger. One day where Shane and Dustin had found him far too "stuffy" for his own good. "Your teammates practically become your siblings."

"The way you act sometimes, it's like we're your bratty little siblings," Hunter said, leaning forward.

"You were expecting Simon Tam?" Cam asked mildly.

"Who?" Hunter replied, confused.

"Never mind." Cam returned to the game.

"Okay." Hunter put it out of his mind, or at least filed it away for future reference.

"But I'm not used to everybody being so... close." Cam sighed again. It seemed like the thing to do.

Hunter smiled encouragingly. "Downside of being a Ranger, eh?"

"I guess," Cam said.

"Who else are you gonna talk to?" Hunter pressed.

"Ambushing me will not get a confession, Ron," Cam said.

"You do realize you just compared yourself to Hermione," Hunter pointed out.

"Megabyte, shut up." Cam switched back to the obscure reference strategy.

Hunter raised his eyebrows, not sure what to make of the reference, but determined to forge ahead. "Anyway, me, Sensei, or do I bring in Shane to stare what's wrong out of you?"

Cam dropped the controller and buried his head in his hands. He was muttering in Japanese, and Hunter wished not for the first time that he hadn't let his get rusty. Maybe he should get Blake in to translate. No, Blake's was just as bad.

"Okay, Sensei it is," Hunter said, forgetting the game and getting up. If Cam wouldn't listen to reason, he'd talk to... somebody.

Cam grabbed his wrist, forcing him to stay there. Or at least until Hunter broke his hold. "Sit down."

"You gonna tell me what's wrong, or do I get to pull everything I use on Blake and use it on you instead?" Hunter asked casually, sitting down again and crossing his arms. He heard the game ping, but ignored it.

Cam sighed, seeing that he wouldn't get out of this without a confession. "I couldn't help Dad."

Hunter put a hand on Cam's shoulder. "Cam, that doesn't mean you won't figure out..."

"You don't get it Hunter." Cam brushed off Hunter's hand. "There's never been something I couldn't figure out if given enough time."

"So, have you given yourself enough time yet?" Hunter asked stubbornly.

Cam settled his face back into his palms. "I should have been...."

"Cam, look at me." Hunter paused until Cam looked up. "You've been busy keeping the Winds, and us, alive, not to forget that for the past month and a half you've been Rangering as well. And not letting CyberCam do half the stuff you programmed him for."

Cam shook his head. "After the closet incident, I don't entirely trust him. Not with..."

"Our lives?" Hunter asked, knowing Cam's standards, and still not entirely sure what to make of CyberCam. Especially since he had a tendency to mess up Cam's life if allowed loose.

"Not with you five. No," Cam said. He could have said a lot more things, but Hunter knew. And Hunter could talk him into, or out of, whatever Cam had in mind.

"Cam, he's been doing pretty decently," Hunter pleaded. "Not to mention... have you noticed that your dad's been kicking you out of Ops a lot lately, especially after you got that Amulet of yours?"

"So?" Cam asked, as if getting kicked out of Ops was an entirely natural thing to have happen to him.

"Delegate is not a four-letter word," Hunter said, borrowing the phrase from who-knew-where. Probably out of something he'd read.

Cam rolled his eyes.

"Cam, we're Rangers, we get to protect the city. But we have to remember that we can't do everything and we can't always save everyone." Hunter tapped Cam's forehead, as if this would somehow drive the point home. "Some day Lothor's going to come up with a spell that isn't as benign as his other stuff, and then where will we be?"

"Stuck," Cam said, matter of factly.

"Anyway," Hunter continued, "just because your Dad's still a guinea pig doesn't mean you failed."

"I couldn't turn him back." Cam was nearly whispering. "I gave him false hope."

"He's still alive," Hunter pointed out. "That's the most important thing. And he knows you're thinking about trying to change him back. That's more hope than any experiment you could possibly do."

Cam stared at Hunter. Really stared. "You really think I'll crack it, don't you?"

"I think you can do anything given enough time and the right tools," Hunter said. He wasn't lying; Cam was really a miracle worker. He just couldn't remember to take breaks.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Cam said dryly, misinterpreting Hunter's sentiment, or ignoring it.

"Look, if anybody can do it, you can," Hunter pointed out. "We don't expect you to be perfect all the time, Cam."

"Sometimes," Cam said, "I have to be. Especially with a whole world on my shoulders."

"Hey that's a sixth of the world, buddy, and don't you forget it." Hunter jabbed Cam in the ribs. "As such, you are allowed to be human and you don't have to be perfect. In fact, you can't be."

"Yes, I can," Cam argued. "If I hadn't, I wouldn't have had a team to be a part of."

"Just because you did things right in the past, doesn't make you perfect," Hunter pointed out. "Your Mom didn't pick you for the Power because you were perfect. She picked it because you were capable, you were worthy, and your heart was in the right place. You did an excellent job on that mission. You're a great Ranger. Perfection, however... can I point out that on your first mission you got turned into a bug?"

Cam grimaced. "Please, don't remind me."

"That's exactly it." Hunter inexplicably beeped Cam's nose. "You're allowed to get things wrong. You've done a lot. But you can't do everything."

"I should be able to do *more*." Cam turned off the game.

Hunter smacked Cam's forehead. "You keep this up and you're going to end up with a savior complex."

"Don't scare me like that, Hunter, you sound like Lex Luthor in Smallville." Cam shoved Hunter affectionately.

"Maybe that's exactly what you need," Hunter told him. He paused, coming up with a new idea. "You remember why you and the other Rangers brought us to live here?"

"Because you weren't safe where you were." Cam gently hit Hunter upside the head. "Also because you were getting sick. This is different, Hunter."

"No, it isn't," Hunter insisted. "We were there because neither of us could get it through our minds that it was okay to ask you for help."

Cam glared at Hunter, making it clear that he didn't want to talk to his younger teammate. "I don't need help, Hunter."

"That's what Blake and I thought." Hunter said, knowing that Cam was still being stubborn, and just needing a little nudge to spill what was upsetting him. It worked with Blake, anyway.

"That's because you were sick," Cam reminded him.

"Yeah, and who came and *insisted* we move to Ops? Who found out where we lived? Face it, sometimes you know you need help, but can't ask for it." Hunter looked at the game again, knowing that Cam would either take the hint, or he wouldn't.

Cam glared at Hunter. Maybe Cam was better at listening than hearing. Or maybe he was hearing only what he wanted to hear.

"Or maybe you can't." Hunter got up. "I'm gonna see what Blake and Tori are up to in the kitchen."

He really didn't think that Tori had come back with Blake, but it seemed to affect Cam in some way ever since Mr. Ratwell and the love spell. Hunter wondered, absently, if Cam would feel the same way if he'd heard Blake's comments about his use of the phrase "sex life" earlier.

"When did Tori get here?" Cam asked, wrinkling his nose.

Yup, Hunter had managed to activate Cam's big brother instinct. Maybe if he gave Cam a chance to gather his thoughts, he wouldn't be so defensive.

"Dunno, just guessing she might be. See you in a minute." With that, Hunter walked towards the door.

Cam scrubbed a hand over his face, breathing deeply. He made a mental note that if the Rangers ever took prisoners, he should tell Shane to let Hunter handle the interrogations. The taller Ranger had the instinct for it.

Hunter came back after a minute, sitting back down again as if nothing had happened. "No Tori, but Blake says dinner's going to be a little bit late. He burned something."

Cam shook his head, but didn't say anything. There was nothing to be said, neither as unofficial big brother or informal interogee.

"Did I spin your head too much?" Hunter asked, looking concerned. "You need some time to yourself?"

"Maybe... I really do need to talk to Dad," Cam said haltingly, as if he couldn't quite believe what he was saying.

Hunter sagged in relief, briefly touching Cam's shoulder. "'kay. I'll be in the kitchen trying to keep Blake from burning anything else if you need me."

"Thanks." Cam patted Hunter's shoulder reassuringly. It seemed he wasn't the only one freaked out by this mess. "Tell Blake if he burns the kitchen down, no more cooking lessons."

Hunter smiled. "Will do." He headed for the kitchen, clearly intent on playing fire marshall.

Cam got up and stretched, heading towards the practice room where he knew his Dad was working out.

He paused in the doorway, watching the small shape bounce around the room, which was pretty much an extension of Ninja Ops, right down to the rock walls with wooden struts. Cam waited for his father to pause in his intense workout. Guinea pig size or not, his father hadn't let his daily workouts lapse.

Finally, the small form stopped. "Yes, son?" his father asked patiently, standing in the middle of the room, paws folded in front of him

"Well... uh..." Cam stammered, unsure how to actually translate his feelings into words now he was faced with his father's presence. His training uniform suddenly felt overly warm, and he missed being able to wear normal clothes around Ops.

His father leapt to his shoulder. "Is something wrong, son?"

"Um," Cam said, still not sure where to start. Other than maybe he should have installed air conditioning in the room.

"Sit down," his father told him in a gentle command.

Cam collapsed down against the wall shakily. "Dad... I'm sorry."

Cam pulled his knees to his chest, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself. His father hopped onto Cam's knees in order to face him, and studied his son quizzically. "What could you possibly have to be sorry for, Cam?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to get you back to normal," Cam managed, though he wasn't sure how.

"Cam," his father said patiently, "I am still your father no matter what size or form that I am in."

"I know, Dad," Cam whispered. "But it's not like we can exchange high fives or... It's just hard. It was so weird when..." Cam trailed off, unable to articulate what he wanted to say.

"What was so weird?" His father's whiskers twitched in consternation at Cam's inability to speak.

"When you were in Dustin's body, and you put your hand-- or his hand... er..." Cam sighed, clearly frustrated at the semantics. "It was you touching me, but it wasn't... and..." Cam shook his head. He couldn't even begin to articulate what that felt like. Even if there was no one but his father around to see how unmanly he really was...

"Cam." The guinea pig form sat down. "I enjoyed being back in a human form as well, and being able to be there for you in a size comparable to your own. However, I cannot help but feel that this was not meant to be, at least not at this point. If it is anyone who should be sorry, it is me, for not being to be there in ways you need."

Cam reached out and touched his father gingerly, trying not to muss his clothes or knock off his hat. His father made a face.

Cam shuddered. It was as if he'd forgotten for a moment that his father was sentient, not a regular guinea pig.

Cam shuddered.

"Cameron?" Sensei scratched his nose in confusion.

Cam frowned, shaking his head. "You just look like Ralph when you do make that face."

His father chuckled. "I forgot you used to have a guinea pig."

"Probably didn't help that I named him after a mouse." Cam smiled. When he got the guinea pig, he'd already decided to name his pet after a character in a Beverly Cleary book, and he was going to, right species or not.

"No," his father agreed.

"But I still feel that using my morpher should have worked." Cam sighed, shaking his head at his own perceived ineptitude. "It's very powerful."

His father patted his knee comfortingly. "Power is meant for a particular purpose, Cam, my predicament is not the intended purpose of your Ranger powers."

Cam gave him a small smile. "It feels so powerful, like it can do more than just transform me. Like I could do more with it." The amulet around his neck could do amazing things, he knew. But he hadn't solved the problem of returning his father to normal, and he was sure he could do that.

"In defense of the planet, not your father," his father reminded him gently.

"It's not fair," Cam blurted. It really wasn't. Why should his father be stuck in this tiny form, unable to do anything, dependent on Cam for anything that required going outside?

"Life isn't always fair," Sensei said simply. Cam nearly slapped his head. How many times had he told Blake or Hunter, or one of the other Rangers that?

"Blake and Hunter would never let me hear the end of it if they got word of that little slip," Cam said ruefully.

His father chuckled. "It would not give credence when you are arguing with Hunter."

"Especially when he starts thinking he's my big brother again." Cam shuddered.

Sensei scratched his nose uncomfortably.

A sudden wave of intuition crept over Cam. "You said something to him, didn't you? That's how he knew you were worried?"

"I was concerned," his father said simply. "I could see he was worried as well."

Cam scrubbed a hand over his face. "Dad, do me a favor? Please don't encourage Hunter. He seems to have a mother hen complex."

"He is your teammate, and closest to you in age," his father pointed out. "I thought it likely if you were to talk to someone, it would be him."

Cam sighed at his father's presumption, but let it go. "I'm about ready to storm Lothor's ship myself. Just to get him out of here so I can get to England all ready."

"Patience, Cam," his father counseled gently. "I know that you... all of you... are doing your best."

"I know," Cam said. "I just... I like being a Ranger, but I don't want to put my life on hold forever." He had to see Trini sometime. Touch her. Talk to her face to face. But when Lothor had attacked, when he had become a Ranger, everything was put on hold.

"I doubt that you will be fighting forever," his father said. "I expect you will be seeing Trini sooner than you think."

Cam smiled. "I hope so."

"I know so." His father sniffed delicately. "Go, relax. And... I believe that someone is burning dinner."

"Oh no, not again!" Cam gently set his father on the floor. "I'd better go teach Blake how not to do that."

His father chuckled. "Go."

Cam got up, and headed towards the kitchen, intent on reigning in the chaos being created by the Bradley brothers.

The End


End file.
